My love for the Victorian Era naturally draws me to book titles like “The Mortician’s Wife.” And once I read the synopsis, I thought it was right up my alley. But Jody Wenner’s novel left me wanting a more in-depth storyline, characters and detailed setting.

The story in starts in 1912, and Wenner introduces Beatrice Westmoreland, whose husband owns a funeral parlor at the beginning of the industry. As expected, I was drawn to her lifestyle and story because of the time period and liked Wenner’s shift in wording to make it seem more akin to that time period.

When the story shifts to Maddy Barton in modern times, it’s a blatant change in writing style, but not in a good way, especially when it comes to the dialogue between her and her husband Tim. The relationship between the two was so stale, awkward at times and questionable to the point where I was expecting him to be a villain in the end. But he wasn’t. Maddy and Tim move into the house that used to be Beatrice’s funeral parlor after moving across the country for a job opportunity. While Tim travels for his architecture career, Maddy puts together the house and works on writing her first novel. After stumbling across letters written by Beatrice, Maddy founds the inspiration for her aspiring novel.

Wenner goes back and forth narrating the lives of the two women and their struggles; Maddy thinks the house is haunted and there are rumors about a murder that took place in her house. Beatrice and her husband are struggling to keep their business afloat while her brother-in-law raises her suspicions with his odd behavior. While the characters had potential, they came across as one-sided and underdeveloped.

A couple of twists made the story more engaging, but they weren’t satisfying enough to keep an interesting narrative. Although there were some things I wish Wenner had done differently, “The Mortician’s Wife” would be well suited to someone wanting to dabble in Victorian Era stories with a dual timeline.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This book was great! The multiple POVs and timelines worked wonderfully and kept the story moving. Highly recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a decent thriller read. Told from two different time periods, 1912 and 2022, and two points of view.
Definitely recommend this one for others to check out and read. Very unique book with the different timelines and a decent thriller.

Thanks to both The Wild Rose Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Mortician's Wife.

Expected Publication Date: Jun 19, 2023

In 1912, as the new wife of the local mortician, Beatrice is settling in nicely at the large home/funeral parlor in Pine Grove, Minnesota. One hundred years later, fledgling author Maddy Barton and her husband move into the same house, which is now a huge fixer-upper. As Maddy slowly meets her neighbors, she finds that many of the people in Pine Grove seem to have as many ideas as they do secrets about the house!

The premise of The Mortician's House was intriguing! Each of the chapters of the book flipped back and forth between 1912 and 2022. I loved Beatrice, the young wife who first lived in the house/mortuary. She seemed to have a huge heart and appeared to be wise beyond her years. I found myself less enchanted by Maddy, the 2022 wife. She wanted her first book to be about the original owners of the house but I felt she bounced around a bit too much as she chased clues and ideas.

Still, The Mortician's Wife was a good book, with an ending I didn't see coming!!